Nikita Mazepin has claimed victory in fine style in this afternoon’s GP3 Series Race 2 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, trailing leader Juan Manuel Correa all race before striking on the last lap to grab the win ahead of ART teammate Jake Hughes and Simo Laaksonen.

The final race of the Series took place under sunny skies and soaring temperatures, and when the lights went out poleman Correa made a storming start to lead the pack into turn 1, with Giuliano Alesi and Mazepin taking advantage of a poor start by Hughes to sweep by the Briton, who managed to hold Callum Ilott, David Beckmann, new champion Anthoine Hubert and Leonardo Pulcini behind him as they headed off towards the top of the circuit.

On the run down the long back straight Beckmann and Hubert were side by side and drifting to the right, when Pulcini appeared then and wanted to hold his line: 3 into 1 doesn’t go, with Hubert the squeezed middle as he and Beckmann broke their suspensions and were forced into retirement. When Pedro Piquet was spun into Jannes Fittje at the marina there was little option but to throw out the VSC signs as the marshals got to work.

The race soon went live once again, with Correa building a small gap over Alesi, Mazepin, Hughes, Ilott and Laaksonen, but it didn’t take long for the group to come together, with the Frenchman looking closely for a way into the lead: Correa made him run to the outside at the marina and was defending well, giving Mazepin a sniff of a position, but the Russian had his own problems when he ran deep at the top chicane and had to cut across the corner to hold on.

Bad news was soon on the wires for the top 2: Correa and Alesi were both handed 5 second penalties for speeding under the VSC, potentially destroying all of their good work. Mazepin saw an opportunity and pounced, slicing by Alesi on lap 8 at turn 9, with the Frenchman dropping further back as Ilott and Laaksonen both mugged him 2 laps later.

Mazepin did find a way by Correa at this stage, by running deep at the marina chicane: the Russian learnt his lesson from yesterday though, rounding the bollard and handing back the position to his American rival before recommencing battle. As the laps rolled down Mazepin held station until the final lap, slicing cleanly into the lead at the marina and storming away, with Laaksonen echoing the move by claiming Ilott’s scalp at the same place for P4 on track.

At the flag Mazepin punched the air with joy, claiming the win that was denied him yesterday and securing his vice champion status ahead of Hughes and Laaksonen, with Ilott a disappointed 4^th ahead of Ryan Tveter and Correa (who finished P2 before his penalty was applied), with Richard Verschoor and Tatiana Calderon rounding out the points positions.

With the season coming to a close Anthoine Hubert is the 2018 GP3 Series champion, ahead of teammates Nikita Mazepin and Callum Ilott, while ART Grand Prix claimed their 8^th Teams’ title ahead of Trident and Campos Racing.  

Nikita Mazepin has set sail on his championship fightback with a fine pole position in this afternoon’s GP3 Series qualifying session at the Yas Marina Circuit, grabbing P1 as the chequered flag dropped to deny title rival Anthoine Hubert a vital chance to pull away in the points: the Frenchman will line up behind his teammate and Leonardo Pulcini in P3 on tomorrow’s grid.

The Russian stopped the clocks at 1:54.885, less than a tenth ahead of his closest rival, but more importantly for him the lap meant that the title fight closes to just 27 points, with 44 on offer for the remainder of this final race weekend of 2018.

With temperatures increasing from this morning’s free practice session, this afternoon’s qualifying was white hot from the start. Callum Ilott led his ART teammates and the rest of the field out when the lights went green, with Mazepin, Hubert and Jake Hughes swapping the top spot between them as the times tumbled.

Hubert led the way as the entire field returned to the pits for fresh rubber and new ideas, setting the fastest times in the first two sectors in the process. With 8 minutes remaining the pack emerged looking refreshed, and soon recommenced battle for the top spot.

Richard Verschoor and then Hubert and then Pulcini briefly sat on the top of the pile, and with one minute remaining the Dutchman led his rivals on track for the one remaining lap.

As the chequered flag dropped Verschoor didn’t have enough for P1, then Pulcini got one hand on pole until Mazepin crossed the line just behind him: when Hubert and Ilott were unable to improve enough the Russian pumped his fist with joy as he toured back to the paddock.

Hughes had done just enough to usurp Ilott in P4, with Trident drivers David Beckmann, Giuliano Alesi and Ryan Tveter filling out the top 10 ahead of Simo Laaksonen and Juan Manuel Correa. With 16 drivers within a second of pole there was little in the fight today, which promises to promote the one to come in Race 1 tomorrow.

Giuliano Alesi has set the pace for the final round of the 2018 GP3 Series by grabbing the top spot in this morning’s free practice session at the Yas Marina Circuit with a time of 1:55.676, going purple in all 3 sectors late in the session for a lap which was 0.892s faster than teammate David Beckmann and Gabriel Aubry, who both set the same best time earlier in the day.

The session opened to the expected blue skies and building heat so familiar to everyone at the circuit, with most of the runners heading out when the lights went green but ART and Trident holding fire for a while: Beckmann was the last driver on track at the 15 minute mark just as ART annexed the top 3, with series leader Anthoine Hubert leading the way ahead of Callum Ilott and Nikita Mazepin.

Hubert went quicker still next time round, laying down a marker for his title intentions, while Beckmann slotted in a tenth behind him to show that his late season form was continuing.

With most of the field having a wealth of experience at the circuit there was little in the way of off-track activity, although Alesi briefly slowed half an hour in before getting underway once more.

Leonardo Pulcini was also determined to show that his recent good form reflected his true ability by setting the pace with 15 minutes remaining, setting a new target for his rivals.

Hubert improved but not by enough, while Mazepin ran well wide before regaining the track at the Viceroy section. All eyes were on Aubry as he was setting purple sectors, but just ahead of him Beckman claimed the top spot with a concise and flowing lap, while the Frenchman ran wide at the final corner to match the German’s time to the thousandth, with rookie Jehan Daruvala slotting just 0.02 behind the pair.

With 2 minutes remaining Alesi struck, setting the pace in every sector to bring home a lap that smashed his rivals dreams: Beckmann improved on the first sector but was well off in the second, and the session was done. Behind the top 4 Joey Mawson was the only other driver within a second of Alesi, finishing ahead of Sacha Fenestraz, Pulcini, Hubert, Richard Verschoor, Ryan Tveter, Jake Hughes and Mazepin as they returned to the paddock to plan their qualifying strategies.

source: gp3series.com